wktf's and Sam Wilson's (with the Dawg!) Reviews 10/26/06

[wktf]

Sam Wilson’s Reviews

Another week, more money spent and this week is a pretty good week to spend money. From DC we get another cathartic issue of Garth Ennis’s The Boys, Warren Ellis’s genius yet untimely Planetary and Wildstorm’s Deathblow relaunch. Marvel gives us new issues of Captain America, Black Panther, the brand new hottie version of Heroes For Hire, Ultimate Spider-Man and my pick of the week: New Avengers. All that being said, on to the reviews…

Deathblow #1
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Brian Azzarello
Drawn by: Carlos D ‘Anda

Deathblow, aka Michael Cray was one of the original members of Team 7, the black op military unit that formed the backbone of all that is the old Wildstorm Universe. Team Seven was originally made up of many of the major players of the old Wildstorm U (Backlash, Grifter, Jack Lynch, and Dane) and a few other men, all whose progeny became the kids known as “Gen 13”. Team 7 was made up of various special operations members of different branches of the armed forces, mainly to do dirty deeds but also to be guinea pigs for I/O, aka International Operations, the Black Ops of Black Ops. Unbeknownst to the team at the end of one of their missions they were exposed to the “gen factor”, which later gave them all super powers to a ridiculous degree. The members of Team 7 got really PO’d that they were used as lab rats, so they all went underground for a time, all of them except for Michael Cray who never developed any powers (initially anyway, he eventually developed powers). Michael, a former Navy SEAL, stayed with I/O and kicked ass for them for years without asking any questions. Then he suddenly developed a brain tumor and retired, but wanted to atone for all the sins he committed under the color or authority. It turned out his brain tumor was caused by his exposure to the gen factor, which also finally gave him a healing factor of sorts. Cray also found a new mission in life, to defeat an entity called the ‘Black Angel”, an entity bent on killing a young boy with strange powers. Cray fulfilled his new mission and eventually died in the Wildstorm crossover event “Fire From Heaven”. Recently in “Captain Atom: Armageddon” and “Worldstorm” Michael Cray was resurrected and is back to kick ass in the new Wildstorm Universe…

Let me start out by saying I’m not Brian Azzarello’s biggest fan. People laud him for his “realistic” dialogue, but being able to write Ebonics doesn’t make your writing realistic, it just means you watch MTV. Of course, Azzarello proves “he knows black people” by writing the one black character in “Deathblow” like he just stepped out of a Jay Z video. I really wouldn’t care if Azzarello didn’t do that with the majority of his black characters, but like in his Marvel MAX Cage series and “100 Bullets” Azzarello proves that his conception of black people doesn’t extend outside of MTV’s “Cribs”. That being said though, I like Deathblow (all stock dialogue aside). Michael Cray is supposed to be the baddest man on the planet, and in Deathblow issue one he is rescued from a Middle Eastern prison and brought to gitmo. Ivana Baiul everyone’s favorite sexy black ops mistress from I/O also makes her comeback as the same evil yet hot cyborg ***** everyone got to know and love from the old Wildstorm U. Anyway, Cray kills one of his captors and seriously messes up one of his rescuers on the way out, and the story didn’t suffer from the same Azzarello confusion that is inherently apparent in may of his books, so I’m in. For now. I guess, but for more words on “Deathblow”, check out my bro Kdawg’s opinion:

Planetary #26
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Warren Ellis
Drawn by: John Cassaday

Planetary has been around since 1999, but has come out so irregularly most people have forgotten about it. When it first hit the stands, I always said it was the best thing to hit the shelves in the last 10 years, and I still stand by that statement. Spinning out of Warren Ellis’s Sci-Fi heavy brain, the book “Planetary” is about four individuals who are archeologists charged (or have charged themselves, I don’t know) in tracking down the Earth’s secret history. Doc Savage, Chow Yun Fat, Tarzan, Godzilla, while not by name but in spirit Warren Ellis has had the members of Planetary track down each and every one of them and bring their stories to light (my favorite being issue three, the “Ghost Cop” story, an incredible homage to Chow Yun Fat/John Woo movies). The team consists of Elijah Snow, the 100 year old man with ties to “The Authorities” Jenny Sparks. Elijah is the secret founder of Planetary, and his power is “heat subtraction”, he is able to produce extreme cold all around him. It is said his power is limitless. Then there is Jakita Wagner, super strong, invulnerable and super fast. She is also ageless, and is the daughter of a man who more or less could be Tarzan. She was rescued from her birthplace in Africa by Elijah snow, and then raised by a German couple. The third and final member of Planetary is “the Drummer”, a young man who is insane, but a genius. “The Drummer” has a superhuman ability to relate to computer systems and has a physiological connection to surrounding information sources. The Drummer was rescued in his infancy by Jakita Wagner and has served the Planetary field team ever since. So what exactly is the team up to these days?

Issue 26 is the second to the last issue, and well, if you haven’t been reading the book you will have no idea what is going on, and since it has come out so sporadically, I really don’t know what is going on (Well I do, but vaguely). Either way it’s still awesome. Elijah saves the world and brokers the ultimate information deal, we don’t get to see much of Jakita (booo) but a lot of hard and fancy super-science is thrown at us and it’s really nifty. The entire series is collected in trades, hardcovers, and even an absolute edition, and if you wait a few more months I’m sure this final arc will be collected and you can read it as it should be read, as one story. So I bid farewell to Planetary (well, one more issue anyway), and I eagerly await the 2nd Absolute edition, which will probably be on my shelf sometime within the next two years (sigh)…

Heroes for Hire #3
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jimmi Palmiotti and Justin Grey
Drawn by: Bill Tucci (who is a total a-clown by the way)

First, I want to start this review by saying this is not the “Heroes for Hire” that we grew up with. There is no Luke Cage or Daniel Rand (Iron Fist), Danny won’t be getting in trouble for not picking up Luke’s ding dongs, there will be no trademark Jim Owsley snappy dialogue (aka Christopher Priest), quite possible “Heroes For Hire” may not even have as big of a heart as the series did back in the ‘80’s, but I’m gonna give it a chance. It still has Misty Knight and Colleen wing, the “Daughters of the Dragon”, who in their recent mini series “Daughters of the Dragon” showed us they are still a couple of bad ass foxy chicas who will put a mutherfu$#er down to pay the bills; and having Shang Chi, aka the Master of Kung Fu around doesn’t hurt either. Black Cat I could give a crap about, but whatever. What does bug me though is how this series is starting out smack in the middle of the Civil War, with the girls (and Shang Chi) being on the side of the “man”…

For those of you who read the “Daughter’s of the Dragon” limited series (now available in tpb form) Misty and Colleen own and operate a successful bail bonds office. With this new series they are being dragged into the Civil War by Iron Man, who wants to put a human face to his new Gov’t superhero squad. Misty and Colleen agree, but only if they hunt rogue super criminals, not heroes. Colleen wants no part of hunting heroes, or more importantly she does not want to get in the middle of a war she sees brewing. The new team is interesting; in addition to Shang Chi we have Humbug (a reformed villain with control over bugs, no really, he’s useful), a new female Tarantula who is somewhat of a mystery and a super bad backup squad featuring Paladin (remember him?) and Orca. Issue two deals with the aftermath of Civil War #4, and the death of a hero fighting on Cap’s side. Misty is ticked, and has it out with Stark, so she decides she is going to take things to Cap and see if she can get him to work things out peacefully. In the meantime, the team also stumbles upon a Skrull organ transplant operation (yes, Skrull). In issue three we find out Cap didn’t get taken out by Palladian (duh), and some Skrull organ transplants recipients pay off their debit by breaking Ricodonna out of prison. Yes, Ricodonna the music industry bigwig/crime lord the girls took out in the recent “Daughters of the Dragon” limited series. Word, the ladies now have their very own arch-enemy…

I tell you, this book is aiight. “Civil War” action, Luke Cage, Skrulls, and damn if it isn’t cool as hell. Yes, I’m not Bill Tucci’s biggest fan but he does an aiight job on this book and Palmoiotti and Grey are firing on all cylinders as far as the story goes. If you are a fan of Luke, Misty and “Hero’s for Hire” of any sort, check this book out.

Wktf’s Reviews

A moderately heavy comic’s week for me. I’m always happy when Captain America, Daredevil and The Black Panther (with Namor and Ororo, T’Challa decides on his Civil War stance) come out in the same week. To fill the Civil War void Marvel’s released Civil War: Choosing Sides (quick review, ugh, don’t bother…though the Ant-Man story is kind of fun). The much hyped Richard Donner’s teaming with Geoff Johns on Action Comics kicked off and we have yet another vampire comic book offering (following the recently completed Dracula vs. King Arthur, one week after Anita Blake premiered and a couple of months following the new Blade series) with Image Comics’ Impaler. Also the latest Stan Lee Meets book and a Sentry story in New Avengers. Reviews time!

Captain America #23
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Mike Perkins

This title, as of last month, has plunged head-long into Marvel’s Civil War plot and, though it appeared that Sharon/Agent 13 was conflicted between her belief in the rightness of the legislation and her love for Captain America, here we see a worried looking Sharon at the same time Bucky, the Winter Soldier, is breaking into a SHIELD facility. Why does she look worried? The location and logistics were provided to Bucky by Sharon, herself. Not only that, but Bucky is continuing his dialogue with the underground and AWOL Nick Fury, now a full body holograph projection, who’s enlisted Bucky to be his agent against the organization and government for which he’d previously bled (as he put it). This issue really is all about Bucky and Fury, and it’s great to hear so much from Fury again. Aside from some Civil War video clips Bucky observes while in the SHIELD stronghold, Captain America is nowhere to be found.

Bucky is as bad ass as ever, taking out a troop of “cape killers” and hot wiring SHIELD tech for some covert ops, Fury style. All the while though part of his focus is trained on Lukin, the man he owes big time, unbeknownst to him and Fury (well, if Fury knows he’s not letting on) that The Red Skull now resides in Lukin’s head. Both know, however, that Lukin is visiting one of the other most heinous Marvel villains at the Latverian embassy, a visit that promises to plague Captain America, over and above his Civil War problems, in the not-too-distant future.

Bru is the man and Mike Perkins, while aping Steve Epting’s art, provides some suitably dark and ominous visuals for this espionage-oriented tale. This issue is a little slower, a little more deliberate, a little more plot advancing and focused but, man, if it’s not yet another truly great installment in the best Captain America storytelling in decades. Once again, this title is my pick of the week.

Action Comics #844
DC Comics
Written by: Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Drawn by: Adam Kubert

This is the issue the internet’s been abuzz over for the past several months. Richard Donner, the famous director of Superman: The Movie and Superman II, is co-writing Action with his one time apprentice Geoff Johns. And Adam Kubert’s powerful preliminary pencils have only augmented the anticipation. So, how does it stack up?

Comics have seen a lot of important kids surfacing lately. In the last year we’ve seen Jason Todd, Supergirl, and (who’d have believed it?) Bucky. Now we have an appearance of someone who threatens to challenge Kal-El’s claim to being the last son of Krypton. The issue starts with a very Superman: The Movie or even Smallville feel to it where Superman inserts a crystal into a control panel in his Fortress of Solitude to speak with Jor-El. Has Superman ever communicated with Jor-El in the comics as he did in the Chris Reeve movies? It struck me as a bit strange. Then Kubert threw in a little Superman Returns design element in by making Superman’s belt buckle a miniature S-shield. An unnecessary and, frankly, nonsensical change if you ask me. Shortly thereafter we find a slovenly Clark Kent, as though lifted from Moorison and Quitely’s All-Star Superman, witnessing Jimmy’s getting chewed out by a cigar chomping Perry White, which feels a bit retro. But then a strange capsule threatens to crash into the streets of Metropolis forcing the Man of Steel to fly into action (pun intended).

This new strange visitor’s arrival, of course, has captured the attention of the media, the government (the same Agent Steel recently seen in Wonder Woman appears here) and, of course, our resident bald evil doer. Superman quickly develops strong feelings for this lost child and becomes fiercely protective of him. In fact, the most dramatic sequence in this issue is the nose-to-nose confrontation Steel experiences with an intensely enraged government property smashing Superman over this child. Kubert’s art is extremely powerful and expressive, if not also a bit sketchy and surprisingly unfinished in its look. Still, there’s no mistaking that Superman is a take-no-prisoners powerhouse when he’s riled. I’m not sure he’s ever come off as explosively powerful as he does here in just a few panels.

Donner and Johns seem to be trying to capture some of the vintage feel to Superman’s mythology while being true to recent continuity as well which, all in, makes for a fun and really engaging read. Despite the reticence I bring up in my second paragraph, all in all, this is a promising start that most definitely has my interest for now. And despite, and maybe even because of, the roughness and raw, unfinished quality of Kubert’s pencils this book is visually as dynamic as you can get. Explosive, even, to use that word yet again. Though I feel like we’ve kind of seen this older brother version of Superman back in the “Supergirl From Krypton” story from Superman/Batman already, the overall mix of characterization, plotting and story elements coupled with Adam Kubert’s powerful pencils have me hooked for now and hoping we’ll be moving into even newer territory with the next issue.

Daredevil #90
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Michael Lark

“The Devil Takes A Ride” arc moves into the second of its five parts. With Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist, posing as Daredevil in the states, Matt Murdock jets to Italy in search of the man who ordered Foggy’s death. Matt doesn’t know that Foggy’s alive and he’s out for vengeance, or is it justice? Matt’s drive and anger blur these two to where the reader can’t be sure. Last issue threw him a major curve ball, though, where a woman named Lily whom he was trying to save from The Matador gave off the same scent as the long-dead Karen Page. This woman has become Matt’s newest obsession and has even permeated his dreams. Of course, the fact that he’s still married to Mila Donovan makes those dreams even more complicated.

But now, in this issue, Matt has another problem. Tombstone, the albino killer with sharpened teeth, super strength and skin like concrete, puts himself between Daredevil and the victim he’s trying to save. Matt wasn’t expecting or ready for a powerhouse like Tombstone and he pays the price for it. What he doesn’t know is that all is not as it seems, and I’m not just talking about the fact that Foggy’s alive. Murdock’s now arrived in Paris and appears to be willfully and eagerly walking into a carefully orchestrated trap with this mysterious woman at the center in ways no one could have expected.

While not the intense and explosive “Devil in Cell Block D” prior arc, this story line offers up plenty of action and a snaking plot line that’s got Matt running hard, seemingly, into a brick wall. How he comes through this one, based on the events in this issue, is what ultimately determines whether Bru and Lark’s second Daredevil arc can keep the same pace as Bru’s Captain America. So far, it’s doing just that.

Stan Lee Meets The Thing #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, John Ryan
Drawn by: Lee Weeks, Scott Kollins, John Ryan, Jack Kirby

Celebrating Stan’s 65 years with Marvel Comics Marvel cooked up this series, the first installment of which was with Spider-Man and the second with Dr. Strange. Now we, along with Stan, meet Stan and Jack’s favorite Marvel creation: The Thing. Like the other issues in this series there’s a short story by Stan, another original story about Stan by another creative team, a humorous two page cartoon by another creator and a Stan-picked reprinted tale about the main Marvel character from Marvel’s halcyon days of yore (sorry, took that from an old Thor story).

Stan’s original tale is harmless enough, but maybe too harmless. Frankly, Lee Week’s fantastic art is leaps and bounds better than this story that has Stan bicycling through lower Manhattan only to nearly run right into Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew on none other than Yancy Street. Week’s Thing is perfectly drawn, with awesome detail and making Ben suitably massive, especially when juxtaposed with Stan. We witness various feats of prodigious strength from ol’ Benjy, like stopping a speeding truck with one arm and swatting a getaway car with a lamp post (similar to how Hercules dispatched a getaway car back in the early days of Thor). When Stan offers to make Ben normal, though, he reacts with uncharacteristic brutality and indifference. You can tell it’s been a while since Stan’s scripted Ben’s lines, though it’s clever that the image on his shirt switches from Spidey to The Hulk when he gets a can of green paint spilled on him.

Rascally Roy Thomas’ story, nicely illustrated by Scott Kollins, is a well researched and respectfully rendered tribute to his former boss. Telling a “lost” tale of Stan when he was in the Army you get the real sense that Roy feels he owes a lot to Stan and wants to make sure, with Kollins’ help, he does this story right. He makes Stan out to be a real goof ball, for sure, but the ending is actually very touching and borderline reverent. The reprint of Fantastic Four #79, from 1968, is titled “This Monster Forever?” I actually was pleasantly surprised they did NOT reprint the more famous “This Man, This Monster!” story. In the tale they chose, having become Ben Grimm, Ben must take desperate measures to protect Alicia from certain death, even if it means becoming The Thing again forever.

Well, so far the best Stan-scripted original story is with Spider-Man, but the Weeks art in this issue make “Stan Lee Meets The Thing” worth the purchase. The Roy Thomas story and, of course, the fantastic reprint issue, make for icing on the cake.

[wktf]

A word to my sponsors.

Joe and Sam are in a category all by themselves. Comics are about as near an dear to them as any folks I have ever met and I have enjoyed comics quite possibly the most I ever have in my 20 years of collecting them because of these guys firing off thoughtful reviews about them each week. That having been said they let me hang around and spout off a bit myself each week lately and that to me makes it even more fun... This week Sam asked me if I would write up a paragraph on how I felt the new Deathblow book was, also Superman/Batman Annual and X-Men... Great week for comics I must say even though my review books were only so so...

Deathblow #1
DC/Wildstorm
Written by: Brian Azzarello
Drawn by: Carlos D ‘Anda

My thoughts on Deathblow are indeed much like my thoughts on WildCATS last week. It's a deep fondness of Jim Lee's art that made me pick these books up in the first place during their initial runs. Now they are back and I am a different type of comic collector... I am older now and I need a lot more than pretty pictures to get into a comic. Back then Jim left after what, like 3 issues and Tim Sale took over... Because I was pissed and didn't appreciate what a brilliant creator Tim was back then, I left the book.

Here we are now with Brian Azzarello and Carlos D'anda and if you thought Deathblow was a dark sonofab*tch back then, you haven't seen anything yet folks. I must say that Michael Cray looks pretty fit and roided out after 6 years of being in a prison camp presumed dead. I won't get into too many specifics, but this man still earns his name Deathblow once the shackles come off... He is a Sam Wilson tough kinda guy.

Azzarello weaves some pretty damn good dialogue in this book that really helps along the story. The art is solid (if at times dark enough to confuse you as to who is who) and it's a good start for this relaunch. In this book we have a general in his robe that has medals on it strangely enough talking to his "bodyguard" while beads of sweat roll off his forehead because he's on the toilet. Then we have said "bodyguard" getting comments from the general's female plaything about how she likes the bodyguard's metal hand. This conjures up a whole slew of images with the reader after her reply sinks in.

"It vibrates too"

This type of gritty and shock factor writing is what made this a good first book as opposed to 10 + years ago where it was all about Jim. I have high hopes for this book and although I can smell a little bit of the Punisher in there somewhere... it's still good to have this Badass whuppin' ass.

Superman/Batman Annual #1
DC Comics
Story: Joe Kelly
Pencils: Ed McGuiness, Ryan Ottley, Sean Murphy, Carlo Barberi

Unfortunately this is the book that I won't spend much time reviewing. Joe and Sam give their picks to you each week. This is the Anti-pick of the week. If you need a stellar Superman fix this week... ACTION COMICS #844 is where it is at...

Here you have a book that has a smokin' Ed McGuiness cover. It's got Deathstroke the Terminator on it and I was on board. Instead I should have known with how this book has gone lately, that it would be confusing for the whole book, and then have the insanity wrapped up only at the end by the person pulling the strings of this inherently WTF story...

To begin this book, please throw any semblance of continuity out the window... it will only slow you down as we start the story off like many Superman/Batman stories begin. They both arrive at the scene of trouble (God help us all as it is more of DC's Space/time dimensional rift trouble...) As the trouble subsides we are introduced to a Batman and a Superman who have no knowledge of each other's identities, don't really like each other, they shake hands and say we should do this more often. At this point we're 5 pages in and I am thinking to myself... "Awww man here we go again"

So somehow Clark and Lois, as well as Bruce show up on this cruise together and this is the best part of the whole story as it has a "buddy type" story feel to it. In fact the Banter between Bruce and Clark is some of the best dialogue I have ever read between these two and Bruce is really giving it to Clark and Clark struggles to have anything witty to come back with. I perked up a bit during this part of the story as it was quite funny. You tend to forget how charming and devilishly rogue Bruce can be because he's always too busy grunting in his cave, but this was good.

It started to fall apart again in a monster way once the inevitable dimensional/ time-space rift opens again right over the cruise ship and Superman/Batman doppelgangers are all over hell. One panel after the other of this until predictably the real Batman and Superman work together to save the day, figure each other's identities out, trick Lois about it, and go on their merry way. Finally leading us to the person who's narrating the story who at this point is the only thing that wraps any of this confusion up and makes it finally click just WTF is going on...

Not to mention completely lost here is Deathstroke who when he is on camera spends most of his time wasting his own doppelganger who after all these years finally reveals to me where Liefield came up with Deadpool. This doppelganger is more Deadpool than even Deadpool... Bah you guys... I really wanted to like this book... I like everything but I just don't think these time/space/earth1/earth567 stories are for me...

X-Men #192, Supernovas part 5 of 6
Marvel Comics
Story: Mike Carey
Pencils: Chris Bachalo

After having last month off to probably catch up on art duties Chris Bachalo is back doing his thing on this book. This team of M-men (although not officially together until the end of this book) is lead by Rogue and is more misfit than pretty much any X-Men team I have ever come across. We are smack dab in the middle of a story where a new type of being called the Children of the Vault has it in for anyone that isn't them. These beings were released on M Day and after surviving through thousands of years of evolution, they're pretty pissed that they aren't the dominating species. They plan to wipe out the mutants and specifically the X-Men first.

I must say that out of all of the X-Books right now is pretty good. It's not the best by a long shot. I mean you have Astonishing which is in a class by itself, and you have some pretty damn good plot twists going on in The Uncanny X-Men right now with Brubaker helming. What this book has going for it is not the Classic, nor majestic storytelling to it, but instead it focuses on another aspect of the X-men and does it well. They are misfits in a world that fears and hates them. Granted with this current team sporting members such as Rogue, Cable, Sabertooth, Lady Mastermind, Mystique, how can the world not fear and hate them right? But somehow Carey has given us all good reason as to why this team should be together. A type of common underlying theme that makes it somehow work. That coupled with having Iceman and Cannonball to balance out the other misfit members, I think this book could get to be pretty good in its direction. This direction is a strike force that actually takes care of business first rather than letting trouble find them.

That having been said they are indeed in trouble as these Children of the Vault are after them in a major way and seem to be much more powerful than the X-Men thus far.

I must say this... I like Rogue more than I have in a long time in this title. She's tough and isn't such a whining annoying character. She's hardened by recent events and so far I think she is the real star of this book. Her costume is more befitting her than it has been in a long time and her team is a reflection of what it is that she is feeling as a character lately. She's an outcast, and her other team members are indeed right there with her. I am patiently waiting for this Children of the Vault thing to be over, as I feel like they are kind of "Fluff" and only there to be the catalyst that bring this team together. Once they are out of the way perhaps we can see what it is that has kept me hopeful for this new creative direction in the first place... How they interact with each other.

Again while it's not my favorite X book out there right now... I gotta say it's growing on me and feeling better with the team now officially assembled and together. It took us 5 issues of dealing with these Children of the Vault beating the snot out of them, but with the final installment headed our way next month, and bachalo delivering some cartoonish, yet very stylish and dynamic work, I hope this book will carve it's own path in the storied X mythos...

Pay special attention to Mystique in this series.... so far she makes for the most interesting plot developments...

Hey it's not Claremont and Byrne.... Hell it's not even Whedon and Cassaday... but it's better than that poor, poor ill begotten decade the X-Men spent after Jim Lee left...

[wktf]

Halloween Trade Review

Stoker’s Dracula HC
Marvel Comics
Written by: Roy Thomas
Illustrated by: D ick Giordano

This HC came out in October of 2005 and, for me, quite literally was the publishing event of a lifetime. Let me explain. The story behind this story is just amazing. In 1974 I was a 14 year old kid and already had read Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” twice. I would go on to read it several more times after that, including as part of a Gothic Literature course in college. I liked the Legosi and Christopher Lee “Dracula” movies just fine but I never understood why they deviated so much from the original source material. All other “Dracula” movies would deviate from this material as well. Back in the 1970s I also was a huge fan of Marvel’s “Tomb of Dracula” comic book and when Marvel came out with “Dracula Lives!” as well as their other black & white monster magazines I gobbled them up too.

Then something truly amazing happened in “Dracula Lives!” #5 and, remember, this still was 1974. Roy Thomas and D ick Giordano produced the first chapter of an illustrated serialization of Stoker’s book! And it was WONDERFUL! Thomas’ writing was faithful to the book, right down to Dr. Van Helsing’s strange dialect, and Giordano’s inks and washes produced dark, mysterious and foreboding illustrations. Not comic book art, but illustrations. This serial ran in separate chapters from “Dracula Lives!” #5-8, 10-11 and the final (but not the last) chapter was published in “Legion of Monsters #1 before it met its premature demise for lack of a platform on which to be published. I was crushed. I had dreams of this story’s being collected in one big magazine or book which I would keep and treasure forever. The one faithful illustrated rendition of Stoker’s novel in the entire world. Oh, well. Such was not to be. Life had to go on.

Fast forward 30 years. Yes, no kidding, 30 years. The stars align. Fate lends a hand. Just when Thomas and Giordano, who had been talking for years about finishing this series, were about to finally give up on completing it, Marvel actually contacts them to make this very request. It was announced on fan web sites and I, for one, practically had a fangasm. Marvel reprinted all their prior work in the first issue of the new “Stoker’s Dracula” series, which premiered October 2004, and the rest of their prior work from the 1970s in the first half of the second issue. The rest of the second and the entire third and fourth issues would be all new material. Marvel completed the series in March 2005 and then published the HC collected edition of these four issues (my childhood dream come true!) in time for Halloween of that same year.

And what a beautiful volume it is! Well over 200 black and white story pages, printed on heavy paper stock, HC bound in a gorgeous black, white and (dripping) red dust jacket, complete with a bright red book mark sash. In addition to the story, this volume is loaded with “Stoker’s Dracula Extras” that include an introduction by Thomas and an afterward by Giordano, both recounting the history of this seminal effort from their own perspectives, the front and back cover art for the four issues of Stoker’s Dracula, the reprinted covers from the 1974 Dracula Lives! and Legion of Monsters black & white magazines wherein this effort originated, prior chapter recaps that led off each subsequent chapter from the original serialization, used and unused cover sketches, and rough pencil-to-ink wash progression pages.

Thomas writes in his essay, “Now – or at least, after all four issues of ‘Stoker’s Dracula’ have been published at six-week intervals – it’s for readers to judge whether D ick and I have succeeded in what was always our ambition: to draw and script the most faithful adaptation ever done, in any medium, of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula.’” Roy, you guys definitely succeeded. I must confess that, after 30 years, D ick did lose some of his drawing chops, the newer segments appear more two-dimensional, and the visual tone isn’t as mysterious and terrifying as the earlier ones. But this is a wonderful piece of work, a must have for any Dracula fan and, clearly, a labor of love for you two creators. I couldn’t be happier, having waited 30 years to see it happen, for this series’ completion to be compiled in this gorgeous HC volume. Thank you, from a die-hard fan. And, for those of you out there yearning for a faithful “Dracula” recreation who didn’t pick up the four part series (or even if, like me, you did) please be sure to pick up this collected HC book. It retails for $24.99 if you can still find it on the shelves and can be had on eBay for about $15. At either price, it’s a real treat!

Halloween DVD Review

Batman vs. Dracula

We normally don’t review video media but, in this case, I wanted to make an exception by reviewing this seasonally appropriate DVD released last year. Not being a huge fan of WB’s new “The Batman” cartoon series (I’ve taped and watched all the first season episodes but haven’t kept up with the following stuff) I still was anxious to see this movie before it was released. I like the semi-manga style of the series well enough, this film features two of my all-time favorite fictional characters, and I’m a big fan of the Moench/Jones Batman vampire Elseworlds series (though I was under no illusion this movie would mirror those works). I jumped on this DVD when it was released and I was glad I did, being quite pleasantly surprised at how terrific it was.

The Penguin is imprisoned in Arkham Asylum and is informed by an unknown inmate of tens of millions of treasure that’s buried in the Gotham Cemetery, which his would-be partner in crime offers to split with him if Penguin only busts him out of Arkham. The problem is that this other inmate, hedging his getaway bets, has also informed the Joker about his stash. During the Joker’s expected prison break the Penguin makes his move as well and both arch criminals find themselves face-to-face on their way to the cemetery, each wanting the booty. While Batman goes after the Joker the Penguin makes it to the cemetery only to revive and become the human thrall of none other than Count Dracula, long imprisoned and forgotten in Gotham. Dracula discovers he’s no longer in Transylvania and Penguin serves as his enslaved guide to the city which, slowly but surely, becomes a breeding ground for the undead. Of course, Batman and Dracula discover each other and the vampire lord offers The Dark Knight an immortal undead existence, with Batman’s predictable response. But Batman finds he must fight a foe that moves with blinding speed, possesses a brilliant mind that thinks quicker than he does, is able to hypnotize and enslave others, and whose strength and agility is vastly superior to his own. Truly, the beating that Batman endures at Dracula’s hands is savage, one he barely survives, and was painful to watch. As Gotham falls deeper under Dracula’s curse, Batman becomes more desperate to cure its citizens and destroy Dracula, and when his brilliantly engineered plan backfires on him he must use all his skills and endurance to maneuver Dracula into a hastily configured alternative scenario.

Be warned: This is not the stuff of kiddie Saturday morning cartoons. Dracula, especially after he’s resurrected by the Penguin, is a truly evil and disturbing monster whose attacks on others are brutal. There’s also a considerable amount of blood spilled in this film, especially when Batman must confront a vampiric Joker in the blood bank. And the Joker, when transformed by Dracula, becomes an even more hellish version of himself, skittering along the walls and ceiling and lapping up pools of blood like a depraved animal on all fours. Both a stunning Vicki Vale, making her premier appearance in this series, and Alfred finds themselves in serious danger. And the nightmare that shocks Bruce Wayne out of his sleep as he recovers from Dracula’s bludgeoning him is truly disturbing, ending with a vampiric Batman crouched low in a window and bearing huge fangs. For sure, this is a cartoon made for adults (though my 11 and 14 year olds loved it). If you’re not familiar with the WB’s Batman offering you may be put off by the young, agile Penguin (this series takes place early in Batman’s and his foes’ careers) or the re-imagining of the Joker as a neo-Rastafarian. Also, some elements of this film don’t quite make sense. For instance, Batman discovers the catacombs Dracula uses to avoid all the graveyard crosses as he exits Gotham Cemetery. But, knowing the vampire lord’s aversion to crosses, why go into battle against him twice without crosses strapped to his front and back? Regardless, this is an edge-of-your-seat exciting film that fires on all cylinders from beginning to end. Any Batman or Dracula fan (or, like me, fan of both) should love it!

[bat_collector]

so x-men got better after last month's aweful (especially art-wise) issue?

[Kdawg59]

Sam... word on Deathblow... I noticed the forced dialogue with the black guy and even with the foreign cats that got blwon up... and yet at other times the dialogue is what saves some of the story as I was a bit lost when the blood was flying everywhere...

Joe... Cap was another winner for sure... Bucky is more dangerous than any of us ever though and seeing him and Fury doing their mission impossible was enough to make me read well into the story before I realize that Cap wasn't any where around...

I also think Jubert dilivers explosive graphic storytelling on Action Comics... At times it did seem to flop between Movie superman and Current superman but it really didn't get to me that bad because I guess I was expecting a bit of that. The scene you mention where Superman is in Agent Steels face...

that may be some of the best superman panels I've ever seen...

[thecallahan]

My favorite line/s from Deathblow was when the Middle Eastern guard, "Yeah, that picture was taken a year ago."

I'm interested to see where they take Deathblow though, they need to give the poor man enough down time to regrow his fingernails though!

[wktf]

Originally Posted by Kdawg59

Sam... word on Deathblow... I noticed the forced dialogue with the black guy and even with the foreign cats that got blwon up... and yet at other times the dialogue is what saves some of the story as I was a bit lost when the blood was flying everywhere...

Joe... Cap was another winner for sure... Bucky is more dangerous than any of us ever though and seeing him and Fury doing their mission impossible was enough to make me read well into the story before I realize that Cap wasn't any where around...

I also think Jubert dilivers explosive graphic storytelling on Action Comics... At times it did seem to flop between Movie superman and Current superman but it really didn't get to me that bad because I guess I was expecting a bit of that. The scene you mention where Superman is in Agent Steels face...

that may be some of the best superman panels I've ever seen...

Keith, I also thought it was a great touch to learn that Bucky's prior assassinations were what prompted the development of the SHIELD lmds.

[Kdawg59]

Originally Posted by wktf

Keith, I also thought it was a great touch to learn that Bucky's prior assassinations were what prompted the development of the SHIELD lmds.

Yeah that was great... and to think how much damage he's probably done and we don't even know the half of it yet...

[Kdawg59]

Originally Posted by thecallahan

My favorite line/s from Deathblow was when the Middle Eastern guard, "Yeah, that picture was taken a year ago."

I'm interested to see where they take Deathblow though, they need to give the poor man enough down time to regrow his fingernails though!

He's a mean SOB isn't he?

[thecallahan]

A man that can take a skinned habanero (it was one right?) pepper up their nose is more than an SOB I think. I also love him shooting (via ricochet) a fellow US soldier and not even looking at the guy. I bet he's thinking, "f'ing puss, I take 6 years of torture and one little bullet to the neck is stopping you!"